Staff Reporter:
A total of 38 flights were cancelled at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) yesterday due to ongoing airspace closures in several Middle Eastern countries amid heightened security concerns.
The cancelled flights on Tuesday included four by Qatar Airways, four by Emirates, four by Gulf Air (Bahrain), four by Flydubai, two by Kuwait Airways, four by Jazeera Airways (Kuwait), four by US-Bangla Airlines and 12 by Air Arabia, according to airport sources.
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan temporarily shut their airspace from the afternoon of February 28, directly affecting flight operations in Dhaka.
Due to the airspace restrictions amid the war situation, 23 flights were cancelled on February 28, 40 on March 1, 46 on March 2 and 38 flights yesterday, raising the total number of cancellations to 147, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Assistant Director (Public Relations) Muhammad Kawsar Mahmud told yesterday.
Flight operations have resumed on other routes, except those to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai, he added.
